Sources claim that German retailer Metro AG is unhappy with Redmond.

Microsoft has been using the "Metro" name to describe the new geometric, typography-heavy look-and-feel that is central to Windows 8—and is spreading across the company's entire range of products—ever since it first showed off Windows Phone.

But sources are telling us that this is coming to an abrupt end after the company's Legal and Corporate Affairs team sent out a memo banning the word "Metro." LCA's memo reportedly says that Microsoft has been threatened with legal action for infringing on "Metro" trademarks held by German retailer Metro AG.

From now on, the new terminology that Microsoft is using is "Windows 8-style UI" when talking about Windows 8 applications, and "New User Interface" when talking about the company's full product line-up.

Asked for comment, a Microsoft spokesman told us:

We have used 'Metro style' as a code name during the product development cycle across many of our product lines. As we get closer to launch and transition from industry dialog to a broad consumer dialog we will use our commercial names.

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In a more serious note: There's thousands of things that are called Metro everywhere in the world. Besides, what I understand of trademarks is that one infringes a trademark if product/service is introduced in the market with the same name as another prod/serv in that market. Meaning that if there's a restaurant called "A" I can't put a restaurant called "A", but I could name "A" a supermarket. Can anyone clarify?

The Metro group is rather big. I'm pretty sure they have trademarked their name for virtually everything.

This last one contains "Datenverarbeitungsgeräte und Computer, mit Programmen versehene maschinenlesbare Datenträger, Datenverarbeitungsprogramme" which is essentially hard- and software as well as storage media.

In a more serious note: There's thousands of things that are called Metro everywhere in the world. Besides, what I understand of trademarks is that one infringes a trademark if product/service is introduced in the market with the same name as another prod/serv in that market. Meaning that if there's a restaurant called "A" I can't put a restaurant called "A", but I could name "A" a supermarket. Can anyone clarify?

The Metro group is rather big. I'm pretty sure they have trademarked their name for virtually everything.

This last one contains "Datenverarbeitungsgeräte und Computer, mit Programmen versehene maschinenlesbare Datenträger, Datenverarbeitungsprogramme" which is essentially hard- and software as well as storage media.

We have used 'Metro style' as a code name during the product development cycle across many of our product lines. As we get closer to launch and transition from industry dialog to a broad consumer dialog we will use our commercial names.

What trolls. Metro AG is a retail chain in Europe. Grocery stores. Wtf are they trolling for. I don't care for the new UI, but that is clear trolling. I guess MS don't want to spend the fees to beat the case. I am sure they would win, but it is cheaper to make a new name. The new name will probably get trolled on anyway. We will have to wait and see.

Metro is used in many company names, including a Phone a company (Metro PCS). I guess they will be next. So much money and time is getting wasted with all these patent, copyright and other similar laws. We need to spend more time creating/innovating, and not worrying if it is similar to anyone elses shit.

The name metro is good for marketing. Microsoft should have just settled with the German company and kept the name. Windows 8-Style UI? Please. What if the same interface is used in the next versions of Windows? Name's clumsier than Windows Phone 8..

I've said all along that there was never any confirmation from MS that Metro would be the public name, and as a result had a self-inflicted branding crisis on their hands. Sure enough, less than three months before their bet-the-company product launch we get this legalese "Windows 8-Style UI". Are you kidding me?

To paraphrase Carlin: "Still only six syllables, but we've added a hyphen!"

"Windows 8-Style UI"Oh god, surely they realize that would be terrible. "Metro" had a cool ring to it. Hopefully they'll come up with some other short/sweet identifier.

Microsoft doesn't often exhibit sense in the "surely they realize that would be terrible" department. But I totally agree with you about "Metro". Their press statement was terrible. Back when Alias was developing their new 3D app, they used the code name "Maya". As product release loomed, they decided that using a bland functional name was much worse than a code name. And so "Maya" is was (and still is). Microsoft needs to find a way not to eviscerate their one, rare, cool name.

On the other hand "New User Interface" might have some potential. NUI... GUI... NUI... GUI... I like Metro better, though.

A computer retailer (Tiger Direct) goes after Apple for using the name "Tiger" for their OS. Apple tells them to fuck off, and wins in court.

Some German retailer goes after Microsoft for using "Metro" to describe a UI style. Microsoft rolls over.

WTF, Microsoft?

Love them or hate them, Apple have Clout with a capital "C." They negotiated music contracts for the iTMS when no-one else could. The negotiated movie and TV contracts when few others could. They negotiated phone contracts with carriers that left users in control of their device updates. They get deals no-one else can, and I think it's because they negotiate hard.

Microsoft... not so much these days. I can't imagine why they caved on this. This isn't the same company that attacked anyone who attempted to use the word "bookshelf" in their product name.

You guys are acting as if Metro was the public-facing name of the OS all along. It wasn't. It was only ever a code name known to geeks, and now it will be a footnote in history.

No consumer has ever encountered the term in connection with Windows 8, or Windows Phone 7 for that matter. MS's branding for their new touch-based OSes on all form factors has been a disaster from day 1. This W8-IU mess is just the latest unforced error.

They should have come out with a Metro Phone and a Metro Tablet years ago. Clean, simple branding that subsumes the name of the OS into the name of the product itself.

But breaking touch-based devices out into their own, non-Windows brand would have required someone other than the angry, out-of-touch Ballmer running the show.

Edit: Okay, that came off as flippant - because it was. But 'Metro' had more prominence at MS than Win8 did. Every talk, press conference, or blog post was Metro Metro Metro. Every article about it was about Metro. Win8 is just a delivery system for Metro. Metro Metro Metro Metro. You can't say it's 'just a code name', it's the single word most associated with the entire damn OS, and losing the rights to it is not as trivial as discarding a used napkin.

Typical USian ignorance? The Metro AG is not some backwater grocery store chain.

May I cite Wikipedia for you:

wikipedia wrote:

Metro AG is a diversified retail and wholesale/cash and carry group based in Düsseldorf, Germany. It has the largest market share in its home market, and is one of the most globalised retail and wholesale corporations. It is the fifth-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues (after Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco, and Kroger).[2] In English it often refers to itself as Metro Group.

But 'Metro' had more prominence at MS than Win8 did. Every talk, press conference, or blog post was Metro Metro Metro. Every article about it was about Metro. Win8 is just a delivery system for Metro. Metro Metro Metro Metro.

All of which was only ever known by geeks, and therefore irrelevant.

Consumers had no idea that a product called "Metro" was ever forthcoming from Microsoft.